diff --git a/lib/index.js b/lib/index.js
index a56565e..f511200 100644
--- a/lib/index.js
+++ b/lib/index.js
@@ -1,16 +1,20 @@
 /*!
- * Copyright (c) 2023 Digital Bazaar, Inc. All rights reserved.
+ * Copyright (c) 2023-2026 Digital Bazaar, Inc. All rights reserved.
  */
 import {fileURLToPath} from 'node:url';
-import fs from 'node:fs/promises';
+import fs from 'node:fs';
 import path from 'node:path';
 
 const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url));
 
 export const contextsDir = path.resolve(__dirname, '..', 'contexts');
 export const credentialsDir = path.resolve(__dirname, '..', 'credentials');
-
-const entries = await fs.readdir(credentialsDir, {withFileTypes: true});
+/**
+ * TODO: Add an async `loadExamples()` API as additional surface.
+ * - Should be idempotent (loads once, caches result).
+ * - Sync loading remains for backward compatibility.
+ */
+const entries = fs.readdirSync(credentialsDir, {withFileTypes: true});
 const credentialDirs = entries.filter(e => e.isDirectory()).map(d => d.name);
 
 const credentials = {};
@@ -23,14 +27,14 @@ for(const dirName of credentialDirs) {
   let queries = null;
 
   try {
-    const credText = await fs.readFile(credentialJsonPath, 'utf8');
+    const credText = fs.readFileSync(credentialJsonPath, 'utf8');
     credential = JSON.parse(credText);
   } catch(e) {
     throw new Error(`Failed to read/parse ${credentialJsonPath}: ${e.message}`);
   }
 
   try {
-    const queriesText = await fs.readFile(queriesJsonPath, 'utf8');
+    const queriesText = fs.readFileSync(queriesJsonPath, 'utf8');
     queries = JSON.parse(queriesText);
   } catch{
     // if queries.json is missing or invalid, keep as null